HOOPFEST IN NUMBERS WITH A NUMBERS GUY

Hoopfest by the numbers with a numbers guy

Hubert “Hube” Langenhorst, CPA of Eide Bailly, a top 25 accounting firm with an office here in Spokane, knows just about everything there is to know about Hoopfest. Really.

Working at a large local accounting firm in early 1990, Hube was approached by a friend who happened to also be the co-founder of Hoopfest, who coaxed him into assisting with the event. Reluctant at first, he agreed to help with their accounting, and watched the event unfold from the very beginning.

1990: The year that Hoopfest got its start.

30: The number of courts Hoopfest had in their inaugural event.

512: The number of teams that played that first year.

Before he knew it, he was involved in much, much more. From crunching numbers to being a court monitor, building the old wooden basketball structures, cleaning, painting, attaching the backboards, manually bracketing (yes, this guy wrote the team names in BY HAND) through all hours of the night, he’s seen this event grow right before his eyes.

“My favorite moment every year is after setting up well into the night Friday and early hours of Saturday morning – as in 2 a.m. Then I get up and am back at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning to help with anything that needs to be done before to games tip off at 8 a.m. My special moment happens early that Saturday morning when the young kids and their parents begin arriving in their matching uniforms and are so excited to play. It makes all the effort, sore feet and lack of sleep all worthwhile.”

30: The number of years that Hoopfest will have run following the 2019 event.

40: The number of city blocks the tournament spans.

421: The number of courts that are played on each year.

3,000: The number of volunteers it takes to make the event a success.

6,000: The number of teams that play in Hoopfest annually.

24,000: The number of Hoopfest players annually.

200,000: The number of people that pile into downtown to partake in the Hoopfest fun.

But Hoopfest couldn’t run with just members of the organization itself, says Hube. “Hoopfest is first and foremost a team effort and would not be where it is today without the support of the entire community.” He also talks about how critical the involvement and support of Hoopfest’s corporate and civic sponsors are to the success of the event each year. “It’s the sponsorships that allow us to keep player entry fees affordable, letting approximately 24,000 players participate annually. These sponsorships also allow us to support all the other programs that Hoopfest manages.”

Teresa Leighton, Regional Marketing Manager of Eide Bailly, agrees. “This is exactly why we sponsor community events like Hoopfest. It not only lets us support the event and all the great things the organization is doing and stands for, but it gives us the chance to give back to this incredible community that we live and work in, if even just a little bit.”

30: The number of community parks that Hoopfest has built and maintained throughout the local area.

$1.5 million+: The number of dollars Hoopfest has poured back into other non-profit organizations since inception.

$48 million: The amount that Gonzaga University’s economic impact study values Hoopfest’s annual economic impact to the Spokane community.

“To think of where we started in 1990 – it’s mind-blowing even to me who had a front row seat to this growth,” says Hube. “And it’s all thanks to the Hoopfest staff and Board, volunteers, the participants, and the sponsors and supporters, that we are able to put on the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Earth. No other event ANYWHERE can even come close to what we do here in Spokane.”